Maritime Provinces

I usually have my laptop with me on vacation, but I haven't been able to close my lid since it was broken in August 2025. So instead of writing a post for each day of our recent trip to Canada, I'm going to just summarize the whole trip in one post.

On this trip we went to many National Parks. Our pass had expired in May, so we purchased a new annual pass at the Vanderbilt Mansion. Our purchase paid for itself on the first day we had the pass because the tours at Vanderbilt and FDR's home cost money for those over the age of fifteen. No tickets were needed to tour Eleanor Roosevelt's home. The kids each earned seven Junior Ranger badges during the trip as we also visited Saint Croix Island International Historic Site in Maine on the way to New Brunswick as well as Salem Maritime, Saugus Iron Works, and JFK's birthplace in Massachusetts on the way home. I had included an eighth US National Park site in the itinerary (Frederick Law Olmstead), but we skipped it so we could get home a little earlier on Sunday night. We didn't need to buy an annual pass for the Canadian national parks because they are free for everyone from June 19- September 7. The only exception was we did pay for a guided tour at the Fortress of Louisbourg. While we were in Canada the kids also earned some Xplorers dog tags. This is the Canadian version of the Junior Ranger program. In 2018 the kids completed the Xplorers program at Fort George in Ontario. On this trip they earned one at Fundy National Park (New Brunswick), Alexander Graham Bell (Nova Scotia), Signal Hill (Newfoundland), and Green Gables Heritage (Prince Edward Island). We had to pay $4 each for the kids to do the one on PEI. There have been a few times over the years that we've had to pay for the kids to do one in the US. At several sites the Xplorers program has been eliminated in Canada so the kids were not able to earn a dog tag at the Citadel in Halifax, the Fortress of Louisbourg, or Gros Morne National Park. We didn't end up hiking at Terra Nova National Park or Cape Breton as planned, and we were at Cape Spear before the visitor center opened. Of all the National Park sites we visited, Gros Morne was my favorite. We went on several hikes there and also took a two-hour boat tour of the Western Brook Pond, which is a gorgeous site (reminded us of Alaska). On one of the hikes we were walking on the mantle. Just counting US National Park sites, our family has now been to 182 of them (out of 433 total). Nadia has earned 238 Junior Ranger badges, Ian has earned 237, and Oliver has earned 226. 

We also enjoyed some beautiful places that were not part of a National Park. We hiked to the Hopewell Rocks. Unfortunately, it was at high tide. I wish it had worked out to visit there at low tide like we did when I went with my family 25+ years ago. We walked on the rocks near the lighthouse at Peggy's Cove, saw the sea arch and Spillars Cove in Bonavista, walked between Cavendish Beach and the Cliffs on PEI, and hiked the gorgeous Skerwink Tral in Port Rexton. That hike was one of my most favorite experiences of the vacation. In terms of animals, the highlights were seeing many puffins, seagulls, and cormorants near the shore of Newfoundland and also kayaking near a harbor seal colony off the coast of Nova Scotia. Paul has the most diverse interests of anyone in our family, so I think he enjoyed almost all of the activities. Some of his favorite historical sites were the Maritime Museum in Halifax, Halifax Citadel, Fortress of Louisbourg, Signal Hill, and Saugus Iron Works. 

We were gone for twelve nights. Two of those were spent on an overnight ferry going between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. Seven nights we stayed at a hotel, and five of those mornings we enjoyed a free breakfast. Two of us could have had a free breakfast at The Guv'nor in St. John's, but since it was only for two people and the restaurant didn't open until 8:00 am, none of us had breakfast there. Three nights we stayed at an Airbnb. The mattress that Paul and I found to be the most comfortable was the one in Rocky Harbour, NL. At two of the hotels, I was able to book a room that had three queen beds, which was nice as typically Nadia sleeps on a couch. One Airbnb I booked had three bedrooms, so Nadia got her own bedroom that night, and Oliver slept on a couch so downstairs so that he and Ian didn't need to share a bed. On Cape Breton I had to book two separate rooms, so Nadia got her own bed that night as well. Ian slept well on the ferry going in both directions, but most of us got more sleep on the ferry back to Nova Scotia. I definitely got more sleep on the ferry than I do on a red-eye flight. I was able to do two loads of laundry at the Airbnb in Bonavista on the evening of our 25th wedding anniversary. 

Not counting the two ferry rides, we had three other outings that involved being on the water. The first was a four-hour kayaking trip off of Nova Scotia. The second was the boat tour of the Western Brook Pond that was almost cancelled due to fog. I'm very glad it actually took place. The third was what Oliver chose since we were on vacation on his 14th birthday. We took a two-hour tidal bore rapids tour that included mud sliding. I wish I had photos of the kids covered in mud. I was especially surprised that Ian changed his mind and participated in that part of the outing because since he was a toddler he has never liked getting dirty/messy. The tides change more dramatically in the Bay of Fundy than anywhere on the planet. Thankfully the titanium in the sand keeps the water nice and warm. 

Since we were traveling in our own vehicle, we were able to bring along more food from home. In general, we tried to save money when it came to food expenses. Some highlights included the soft ice cream that we had near the entrance to Fundy National Park, eating a donair in Halifax (I was the only one who tried one), getting sandwiches from a grocery store multiple times, getting breakfast sandwiches and/or donuts at Tim Hortons and Robin's Donuts multiple times. eating pizza twice (Paul's favorite) and eating a meal at Market Family Cafe in St. John's. The food there was amazing and reasonably priced. Four of us thought we had our best meal on the trip at that restaurant. The boys really enjoyed eating at A&W one time as they loved the root beer served in a chilled glass mug. The most frustrating evening for eating was on August 10 because a crow damaged a transformer and caused a power outage that lasted 44 hours. The restaurants were all closed, and everyone was buying the food at the gas station and pharmacy so there wasn't much available. 

In general, my least two favorite aspects of a vacation are #1 not getting much sleep due to all different mattresses and #2 how exhausting and unpleasant it is to spend many hours in an airplane, ferry, or van. Not counting the nights on the ferry, I think the night we had the hardest time sleeping was the Airbnb we stayed in on August 7 because it was way too hot inside. I slept on the couch because I couldn't sleep upstairs due to the heat. As far as time spent traveling, we drove a little over 4K miles in 13 days. Eek! Then when we came home, we were home for less than 48 hours before we drove to Yvonne's house in Maryland and then on to Virginia to take Nadia to college. That round trip was a little shy of 1K miles, so we drove a little over 5K miles in 17 days. Our odometer turned over to 100,000 miles near the end of our trip home from Maryland this morning. We've had the vehicle for 5 years. I'm hoping to do VERY little driving in the coming months. I had finished the license plate game at the end of July, but Oliver wanted us to start again. So far in the month of August, we saw license plates for all ten provinces of Canada. Nine of the provinces we saw multiple license plantes, but we only spotted Saskatchewan one time. By the end of our vacation, we had seen plates from 40 of the 50 states (plus we saw DC). By the time we came home from taking Nadia to college, we had seen 46 of them. The ones we are still looking for are Arkansas, Kansas, North Dakota, and New Mexico. Paul and I shared the driving. As was the case in Europe, we encountered a lot more roundabouts than we do here in the US. We were in three different time zones. Atlantic is one hour ahead of Eastern, and Newfoundland is 1/2 an hour ahead of Atlantic. During the drives Nadia read many books (some on her Kindle as well as some physical books that she brought). Ian, Oliver, Paul, and I listened to all of Priest and part of Warrior by Jared Dodd. Ian played a LOT of chess on his phone. Both boys also played with the Nintendo Switch. Thanks to a free trial of SiriusXM, we also listened to some music although it was challenging to get a signal on Newfoundland. 

I have now been to 8 of Canada's 10 provinces as I went to 7 of them with my parents. Paul and the kids have now been to 5 of the provinces as they've spent time in Ontario on more than one occasion. If all goes as planned, we will travel to British Columbia and Alberta next summer with Nadia after she finishes her internship. Our next vacation will probably be to Utah (with a little time in NV, CA, and ID) without Nadia in the spring. We're planning to fly for both of those trips, so I hope those trips involve a lot less than 4K miles of driving, but I'm glad I finally made it to Newfoundland for the first time. It's my favorite province of the five that the kids have visited. 

Fifty Nifty

 

In July 2017, I started keeping track of license plates I saw to see if I could spot one from every state. Some years I have achieved the goal. Some years I found 47-49 of them. I usually start over at the beginning of each new year. Last year I didn't find my last one (Wyoming) until the end of December, when we were driving in Illinois to celebrate Christmas with my extended family. Because our vacation in May was in Europe, I had decided in January to take the year off. Then in the spring I saw a Hawaii license plate when I was parking for the boys' orthodontist appointment. Hawaii is typically one of the hardest ones for me to find (not counting last year when we traveled there). I thought maybe I should play the game this year after all, but then again didn't actually start making a list. Over the next couple of months I continued to spot some of the hardest ones (North Dakota and Wyoming), so at that point I felt I must play the game again this year. Even though I didn't start until late in the spring, I was down to only needing eight more states by early June. The last seven were Kentucky, Kansas, Colorado, Arkansas, Alabama, Montana, and South Dakota. I figured the hardest one would be South Dakota, and that was my 48th one to spot. Ironically, I saw that one in our church parking lot when I was picking up Nadia after she attended a camp at Messiah University with our youth group in July. I knew at that point it would not be hard to see all fifty this year because I've never had trouble finding Arkansas or Alabama before. I spotted the last one (Alabama) on our drive down to Maryland on July 31, so this was by far the quickest I finished the game, considering I didn't even start in January as I usually have. On the way home from Maryland on August 2, Oliver decided to start playing the game again. Time will tell if we really do try to see them all again over the next five months. It's funny how something so simple can bring me such joy, but spotting those last few really puts a big smile on my face. 

It's been almost four weeks since I wrote a gratitude list, and I won't have a laptop while we're on vacation in Canada, so I will write one today. 

1. The boys enjoyed their free slurpees at 7-Eleven on July 11. I also enjoyed a lunch date at Panera with Ian that day before he played D&D at the library with some friends from church. 

2. My favorite ice cream is chocolate/peanut butter twist (soft serve). I never had any in 2025. I was thrilled to discover in July that a place in Lewisburg was selling it. I had it twice last month after not having any for two years. Yum! One of the visits was with Ian, and the other visit was with both boys. Oliver's top choice is a peanut butter milkshake. Ian's favorite is a peanut butter cup "blizzard" (every place has a different name for that type of treat). 

3. I enjoyed teaching from Zechariah 5-10 in our Sunday School class on July 12 and 19. 

4. Everything went pretty smoothly when we watched Cooper for about a week in July. 

5. Paul only had to spend one day at the courthouse for jury duty since he wasn't one of the 14 chosen for the jury. Cheri helped out with bringing Paul home when we only had one car due to Nadia having the Subaru at camp. 

6. The boys enjoyed doing Stronghold camp for the fourth year in a row. They'd like to join a club. We shall see if Ian actually has time for that or not.

7. The boys and I were able to go Christmas caroling in July at a nursing home. I was the pianist. 

8. Ian has been enjoying his voice lessons. I enjoy hearing him practice at home. He's had five lessons so far. He wants to continue taking lessons during the school year. We haven't worked out what day/time those will take place yet. 

9. Nadia enjoyed spending time with Faith and Abby at Generate Camp. We paid for 50% of the cost. Nadia was supposed to cover the other 50%, but someone else paid for her portion of the cost.

10. Paul took the boys bowling on July 22. 

11. Dad and Karen got married on July 18, and they had a lovely honeymoon in North Carolina. Paul, Oliver, Milo, and I met Karen at Yvonne's house on August 1.

12. Yvonne gave birth to Trevor James (her 8th son) on July 16. We met Trevor on July 31.

13. Ian had fun at Toby's grandparents' river house from July 31 - August 2. Joel and Nathan were also there in addition to some of Toby's siblings and friends. 

14. Nadia worked at Camp Susque for six weeks this summer. She came home on August 1 while the rest of us were in Maryland. She served as substitute head cook for a day a few times and did well at the job, so they asked her if she'd be willing to serve as head cook in the future. The head cook is paid more than the other support staff. She said she would be willing to be head cook for the winter camp Ian plans to attend in December, and if she ends up working at Camp Susque next summer, she is willing to be the head cook then. She's not sure at this point if she'll have an internship next summer or work at Camp Susque one last summer. She received a free hat as that is the gift they give staff who have worked there three years. A different gift is given to those who work there for five years, but I doubt she'll work there five years in a row. 

15. Our van barely passed the annual inspection this summer because the tires were very close to the minimum tread depth. I had seen that Bastian would periodically have a special where if you buy three tires, you get one free. I was hoping to take advantage of that deal, but I also knew we needed to get new tires before our trip to Canada, as we'll be driving thousands of miles. Thankfully, they issued the deal last Tuesday, and I was one of the first 25 customers to claim it. We got our four new tires yesterday and only paid for three of them (which meant we saved a little over $200). Paul took the van to the appointment because I had a committee meeting at MCS yesterday morning. 

Thankful Thursday

1. Our spring session of our co-op came to an end on May 6. We ended the day eating lunch in our town's park and most of the kids playing a game of Whiffleball. 

2. My grandpa paid for my bachelor's and master's degrees. I paid for half of my doctorate, and the school where I was principal paid for the other half. Paul and I paid for Nadia's college tuition for the last two years, but the trust (consisting of money from my grandpa) has paid for her tuition at Liberty for the upcoming school year. 

3. We finished our school year on May 8. Some homeschoolers do their schooling year-round. I understand the benefits of going that route, but we enjoy having the summer off. Nadia finished her government class through Liberty on May 9. She earned another A. 

4. The kids had a good practice quiz in Indiana on May 9-10.

5. Paul and I enjoyed spending time with Andrew, Brendan, Jenna, and Toby at Jenna's graduation on May 10.

6. We enjoyed hearing the kids sing at the spring program on May 13. Paul's dad also attended. We also brought home some of their artwork that was on display that night. 

7. It was a blessing to be able to stay at my sister's house in Maryland on May 13 and again on May 28. The first time one of their neighbors gave us a ride to the airport early the next morning. The second time Joe picked us up and then we were able to enjoy some time with Yvonne's family. 

8. Milo was well taken care of by the Seiberts while we were away. 

9. We were all healthy during our trip. Almost everything went smoothly. We were able to visit new places, see different animals, try different foods, etc. It never rained during the trip. 

10. Nadia has been able to work almost every day since we've been back from vacation. 

11. The boys enjoyed spending the night at Xandir's house on May 31.

12. Nadia and four of her friends enjoyed painting pottery and spending time at our house to celebrate Nadia's 17th birthday.

13. Oliver is enjoying the early birthday present (new bike) that he received from Paul's dad. 

14. We enjoyed spending time with Jenna and Toby on Sunday. They only live 90 minutes from us. We shared a meal, played games, and did an engagement photo shoot. They have asked me to be their wedding photographer for their wedding in February. I took a little less than 100 photos of them at a park near our home, and I sent them about 50 photos. 

15. A deer ran into the van at the end of March. The van has been at the shop since Monday morning. We're supposed to be able to pick it back up tomorrow. I am very grateful as I haven't enjoyed driving in a dented van. 

16. The Schrecks plus one niece and nephew came over for dinner at our house on Monday night. 

17. Tomorrow night Paul and I are beginning a ballroom dancing class in salsa and merengue! The kids are looking forward to a Wizard of Oz cast party that's happening tomorrow night. 

18. Paul had begun spackling/sanding in the living room the week of April 14. He had to take a break while we were on vacation, but he finished on May 30. We started painting the room on May 30 and finished it in the morning on May 31. I think it looks great! My sister said it makes the room look larger. Paul's dad doesn't usually make comments about the house, but he gave positive feedback on that room when he was here last Saturday. The changes in the room included new paint color (orange to grey), baseboards and windows went from stained wood to painted white, from miniblinds to curtains, and one chair (that was hardly ever used) was replaced with a plant. 

19. Nadia continues to help me with almost all the cooking and baking. Some things she does on her own, and some things we have been making together. 

20. Yesterday I ordered a gallon of paint from Lowe's. I had no idea that they would do a same day delivery for free. In addition to saving me a trip there, I used a Capital One browser extension that had a $40 rebate so the gallon of paint will end up costing me a little over $10 after that rebate. I chose a beige color for the foyer and upstairs hallway. From the time I ordered it until it was delivered was less than two hours, not that I needed it that quickly, but that service is impressive!

21. Submitting Nadia's preliminary high school transcript to Liberty was far more complicated that necessary. I had to submit a letter from Meadowbrook stating they would not be issuing her a transcript for art, drama, or chorus because she's a homeschooler. I also had to request that LU send LU transcripts two different times within the last month. Seriously?!? Anyhow, they are finally satisfied that we have submitted everything necessary for them to make an enrollment decision. Considering she has a 4.0 at LU at the moment, I can't imagine why they wouldn't accept her. 

22. It won't work out for us to use our six free passes at Montage Mountain water park later this month. Thankfully, a family involved in our co-op is planning to use them. Their daughter who is Ian's age, has never been to a water park before so I'm happy they can make use of them. 

Off to see the Wizard!

Winter is my least favorite season, so I'm always thrilled when the weather starts to turn warmer, the grass gets greener, the trees begin to blossom, etc. I always think of my mom on the first day of spring because her birthday was March 20. She would have turned 80 this year if she was still alive, but she passed away in 2016. Rita's and Dairy Queen give a free treat to all their customers on the first day of spring. The boys and I took advantage of these offers this year, which was a first for us. I intended to last year, but I didn't realize that in a leap year the first day of spring is one day earlier than usual. In some locations ice skating rinks are open year-round. Ours closes at the end of March. Several of the kids from our co-op plus some of their younger siblings went ice skating together on March 21. We had two free passes, so we only had to pay $5 for the three kids to skate since Nadia already owns her own ice skates. 

Ian had his annual physical on March 14. Usually, it costs $50 for us to see the doctor, but awhile back they started charging us $100 for the kids' physicals because they said the hearing/vision screenings also cost $50. This time I asked if those screenings could be declined. She said they could. Ian had just been to the eye doctor the previous month, so I knew the screening wasn't necessary and was happy to save $50. The boys got their new eyeglasses last month. I have to say in both instances I liked their previous glasses better than the ones they picked out this time around. Ian's glasses are more similar to a pair he had previously so that wasn't as big of an adjustment. Oliver's have definitely taken some time for me to get used to seeing them on his face. This is only his second pair of glasses. I prefer his first pair, but to each their own. The good news is that he's gotten much better about wearing his glasses. We have had to buy a few different nose pads for Ian's new glasses because they were sliding down his nose. Ian's sleep study plus nose surgery was the first time we had a significant expense to submit to Samaritan (our health sharing program). So far, we've received checks for a grand total of $5,852 (most of them were $139 each). We are only waiting for the last $278 to come in, and then we will have been reimbursed for everything we paid. It's reassuring to know from experience that this system does work. 

On March 21 five girls from our co-op had an appointment at YWCA's Cinderella Closet to shop for prom dresses. Four of the girls found a dress. They are normally $20 each, but someone had paid for the next twenty-five girls to get their dresses for free, and we happened to be the first four to take advantage of that kind offer! Nadia also got a free pair of heels. Nadia picked a purple dress. I think all of the girls looked beautiful in the dresses that they chose! Five girls and two boys from our co-op are planning to attend a prom together on May 3. Ian, Ben, and Lydia opted not to participate in the prom. The other kids in our co-op are in middle school and therefore not eligible to attend yet. After this year's prom then we can decide whether next year Nadia will be attending the prom OR her cousin Andrew's graduation from Cedarville University as they are going to be held the same day. 

Over the period of March 24- April 5 the kids had Wizard of Oz rehearsals or performances 12 out of 13 days. Their only day off was Sunday (March 30). I'm helping with serving meals to the cast/crew this week. Paul, Paul's dad and Tab will attend on Friday, and the Towfighis, Toby, and Grandpa will attend the matinee on Saturday. I think this will probably be the last time my three kids will be in a musical. I attended the dress rehearsal last night so that I could take pictures. I overheard another mom telling someone else how funny Ian was and that he was going to "steal the show." Last week and this week I would have appreciated if Nadia had her driver's license, but it was worth all the driving for the kids to be able to participate in the musical together. The rehearsals have been going until 10:30 pm this week, which is definitely past my bedtime. Paul has done most of the late pick-ups.

Last Monday Paul and I painted the dining room. When we purchased the house in 2008 that room was painted white. I painted it light green in 2016. This time Oliver and I picked out a light grey. Last Saturday I sanded, primed, and painted the trim that had been stained for 26 years. It's now painted white. What a difference that makes to go from stained to painted white trim! I think it looks much better. I'm planning on doing the living room next. I have no idea how many months or years it will take me, but eventually I'd like to redo the trim in the whole house. It will make the house easier to sell whenever we decide to move.

None of our relatives passed away in 2020, 2022, or 2024, but I've had two relatives pass so far in 2025. My mom's sister's husband died at the age of 83 in January. My dad's one and only cousin died at the age of 87 last week. The last time our family saw Charlie was in August of 2023 when we had dinner with them at a restaurant in Pittsburgh. I spoke on the phone with him a couple of times last year after I read his book that he had recently written. We also exchanged Christmas cards in December. I would have attended his funeral except for the fact that #1 we already had plans with Yvonne's family for this weekend (we have tickets to see a passion play on Sunday afternoon) and #2 a deer plowed into the van on March 27 when I was driving home after dropping the kids off at a Wizard of Oz rehearsal. The auto body guy says it's drivable, but I'm wanting to drive it as little as possible until it's repaired, which won't be until June unfortunately. The earliest available opening conflicted with our upcoming vacation to New Orleans/Texas. 

I can't recall any President in my lifetime who has been working to do SO many things in such a short amount of time like Trump is in his second term. Although I like a fair amount of what he's doing domestically, I think he's turning into a train wreck when it comes to foreign policy. In his first term he negotiated the Abraham Accords in the Middle East which seemed like a very positive thing. This time around I don't understand why he's being so hostile to Canada, friendly to Putin, or making ridiculous assertions like possibly considering using the military to annex Greenland. WHAT?!?!? I also find it equally disturbing that he thinks there is ANY chance he could serve a third term. I don't want any President to be able to serve a third term. George Washington, the best President we've probably ever had, saw the wisdom in stepping down after two terms. If another country has been imposing tariffs on us, I think a reciprocal tariff on them makes sense, but it seems like Trump is going WAY overboard with the tariffs - far beyond just making them reciprocal. I'd love to see an end to the war in Israel and the war in Ukraine, but I don't think just letting Russia take whatever they want from Ukraine is a good idea. I wish the people of Russia would do something about replacing Putin. The Russians have already sacrificed more than 800,000 people to this cause of attacking Ukraine. Why are the Russian people allowing this to continue? I certainly hope Trump's actions don't cause more countries to get nuclear weapons because they now realize they can't count on the US to help them if Russia continues to try to expand its borders. I hope Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania aren't Putin's next targets. God is in control.

Nadia as one of the tornado dancers

51

Yesterday I turned 51 years old. Some years nothing has really happened to celebrate my birthday. Last year I bought tickets for us to see a show at Sight and Sound on my birthday, and we also ate lunch at a smorgasbord restaurant in that area. This year two of my friends made my birthday special. On Thursday Tab treated me to lunch at Panera because I love their strawberry poppyseed salad. We ate outside the restaurant because it was a lovely day, and we sat and talked for a while after we ate. Thankfully, the kids are old enough that I can leave them for a few hours, and since our school year is winding down it takes less time to finish our schoolwork. I picked up donuts for Friday morning, Venarri's pizza for our dinner, and our favorite peanut butter Oreo homemade ice cream. I'm not really a big fan of donuts, but the kids and Paul really enjoy them, so I bought a half dozen as that is one of our family's birthday traditions. We rarely get our pizza from Venarri's, but it's my favorite pizza place in Pennsylvania. Tab also gave me a card in which she had written some sentences that almost brought me to tears they were so touching. On Friday, my friend, Cheri, took me to lunch at a restaurant I had never been to before. Many entrees on their menu interested me, but I ended up choosing a strawberry crepe because I haven't eaten a crepe in several years. It was delicious! We ate outside and walked around the town some after we finished eating. I don't have lunch with a friend very often. I think it's been at least 14 years since I had two lunches with a friend in the same week. I'm very grateful for these two friends! I also talked on the phone this week with my friend, Joyce, Yvonne, Aunt Janet, Aunt Tina, and my dad. Some weeks I don't talk to anyone on the phone, so I definitely was on the phone more this week than usual! I also received a birthday card in the mail from Paul's dad and my friend, Kay. I gave Cheri my first birthday burger reward from Red Robin. I gave Oliver my free birthday pastry from McDonald's as he loves cinnamon rolls. I got a free birthday pastry from Panera yesterday. I picked a cookie that I hadn't tried there before and split the cookie between Oliver, Nadia, and myself. Paul got me a pair of sneakers, and my dad and Margie got me a tablecloth, book, Perkins gift card, and snowmen to put on the garage lights next winter. Last year was the first time that any of my kids bought me a birthday gift. None of them got me a gift this year, but the boys each did one extra chore for me this week as a gift.

This week was our last full week of school as we did schoolwork every day Monday through Friday. Next week we have two field trip days, and the same is true for Nadia and Ian two weeks from now. May 8 will be our last day of school. Paul got up at 4:30am on Wednesday morning and was on the road at 5:00am. He arrived at the airport in Indianapolis at 1:30pm. A couple of hours later someone from the Honda dealership picked him up. He left the dealership in our van at 4:30pm and arrived home at 1:30am. Paul drove 17.5 hours within 21 hours! We are thankful to have our van back. 

Indiana

Indiana is the state where my parents first met when my mom was a senior at Grace College and my dad was studying at the seminary. My mom got her master's degree from Indiana University. My eight cousins on my mom's side all attended college in Indiana, and my aunt, uncle, and five of my cousins currently live in Indiana. I lived in Indiana during the summer of 1993 when I was working on my master's degree. Several weeks ago I contacted my cousin who lives in Indianapolis to see if we could get together on April 15.  The only times I've seen her in the past 19 years have been at my mom's and my brother's funerals. I would have liked to have spent time with her and meet her two children, but it didn't end up happening.

We drove into Indiana bright and early on Friday morning. We planned to spend most of the day at Wilstem Wildlife Park. I had learned about the animal encounters available there, and the kids really wanted to do it. If it was up to me, we wouldn't have done it because of the cost, which was also true of our two days at Universal in Florida last year. Paul is far more willing to splurge than I am. Our first activity was to drive through the safari. We were each given a container to feed the animals. The emus were the most aggressive. In some sections of the safari we were told to keep our windows up because we weren't supposed to feed some of the animals. We were a little bit rushed because we hadn't arrived as early as they thought we would. I had intended to do the safari drive thru during our lunch break. We decided to wait until our lunch break to get a photo of our family with a grizzly bear. Our second activity was to spend one hour with two Asian elephants in their late 50's. We had to pay extra to feed them which I thought was ridiculous given how expensive the encounters were, but we splurged and purchased some slices of carrots and apples so we could feed the elephants. 

Petting a bearcat (binturong)

Our lunch break was next, so we decided to go back through the safari again as we still had a lot of animal feed, and we wanted to get a picture of our family with the grizzly bear. This proved to be a very, very expensive trip through the safari because Paul drove too fast, and a significant bump created a hole in the oil pan of our van. When we parked to get our picture with the grizzly bear, I pointed out to Paul that there was steam coming from the hood of the van. Upon inspection he discovered that the oil pan was damaged, and oil was pouring out onto the ground. My dad and Margie have paid for us to have a AAA membership for 5 years. Thankfully, we had never needed to use it prior to this. I've been paying for home insurance for 22 years and have never made one claim. Similarly, we've gone over 20 years without making a claim with our car insurance. We're also thankful we've never needed to make use of our life insurance policies. In December 2021 we switched from health insurance to Samaritan Ministries, a Christian health sharing program. So far, we haven't submitted anything to Samaritan for reimbursement because the bills have been too small and because they don't pay for mammograms. I handed Paul my phone (I wish I hadn't because I didn't get my phone back for 4.5 hours), and he began the process with AAA. We never got our picture taken with the bears because the kids and I had to walk back (where you are supposed to drive) to the kangaroo barn. We didn't see Paul for the next 4.5 hours, so he missed out on all the other animal encounters that I had purchased for each of us. Although we will be paying for the $1K oil pan and also the rental car, thanks to our AAA membership we didn't have to pay for our van to be towed to a Honda dealer in Indianapolis. 

The kids and I had a private tour of a variety of animals housed in a building they call the kangaroo barn. We were able to pet a bearcat and several kangaroos. By far my favorite part of the day was our time with a sloth named Luna. She was very friendly and loved to have the "palm" of one of her feet rubbed. I doubt I'll ever hold a sloth again, so it was a very memorable experience! Luna's caretaker did an excellent job of teaching us a lot about sloths. After that, the four of us spent an hour with two giraffes. We didn't have to pay extra to feed them. Our final animal encounter was with three Asian otters. We paid extra for that encounter, and I don't feel that it was worth what we paid because we didn't get to touch or hold the otters. We watched them play with toys, swim in a baby pool, and dry off on a towel, and we fed them pieces of fish using a wooden skewer. From the time Paul called AAA it took more than 2 hours until the tow truck arrived. While we were with the otters, the tow truck arrived. I had very little communication with Paul during those 4.5 hours because he had both of our cellphones, and I also was unable to take videos of our animal encounters. We explored the kangaroo barn and also spent more time with Luna while waiting for the tow truck to pick us up.

The plan had been to have an early dinner at a Bob Evans on the way to our hotel in Indianapolis. We ended up just eating crackers and such (which we usually have for "lunch" when we're on vacation) at almost 8pm, which is MUCH later than the kids and I usually eat dinner. We spent almost 3 hours in the tow truck because he had to stop twice - once for hydraulic fluid and the second time to pick up a second vehicle. Paul and I were in the front row of the cab with the tow truck driver, and the kids were in the back row of the cab. He dropped us off at our hotel along with some of our belongings that were in our van and then took our van to a Honda dealer. Paul had been told they would complete the repair on Monday so we discussed a wide variety of options - going home on Sunday night as planned, going to Ohio as planned but then returning to Indianapolis on Sunday evening and driving home on Monday, Paul coming back with his brother, Paul flying back, etc. We made the decision to stay in Indianapolis through Monday. I booked a rental car, I was about to make a hotel reservation two more nights in Indianapolis and try to cancel the one in Ohio, and Paul was about to take the hotel's free shuttle to the airport (to get the rental car) when we found out that they wouldn't be able to replace the oil pan until Wednesday because they didn't have the part. I was grateful at that moment that I hadn't altered our hotel reservations because at that point we decided it was better to just go home on Sunday night as planned in the rental car. I wish I hadn't already made the rental car reservation because the price was much higher for the days we added to our reservation. We hadn't rented a vehicle since we were in San Diego in 2018. Paul plans to drive back to Indianapolis tomorrow to return the rental car, and the Honda dealer will pick him up at the airport and bring him to the dealership. He then plans to drive home in our van. He'll be driving 16 hours in one day. Gulp. We didn't know what size vehicle we'd be renting, and also the tow truck driver was the one getting things out of our van so there were many things left behind that we've missed the last few days such as my sneakers, Paul's hoodie, two of my jackets, our garage door opener, etc. I did some laundry yesterday, but the rest of our dirty laundry is in a bag in our van in Indianapolis at the moment. Thankfully, Nadia wears the same size shoes as me, so I've been borrowing her sneakers when I walk Milo. Part of the reason we didn't extend our time in Indianapolis was we had filed our taxes before we left for our vacation, but we hadn't sent our checks to the state of PA or the IRS, and those needed to be postmarked by today. We needed to get home in time for Paul to write the checks and get them in the mail.  I had done almost all of the driving for the first week of our trip, but after we got the rental car Paul did all of the driving. 

I remember playing that game on an Apple 2 computer many years ago!

My plan had been for us to visit the Indianapolis Zoo on Saturday morning, but I decided on Friday evening that we'd skip those plans as I figured we needed time to get a rental car. Our first stop ended up being a guided tour of the Benjamin Harrison Presidential site. Then we visited the Children's Museum, which is the largest children's museum in the world. When our children were younger, we spent a lot more time at children's museums than we have the past several years. We had annual memberships at more than one children's museum in the past. Given my background of teaching in Early Childhood Education, I had been interested in visiting three famous children's museums for several years. We made it to two of them - the Strong Museum of Play (NY) and the Children's Museum of Indianapolis. This museum was very large on the inside but also had a large outdoor section. The kids didn't want to wait in line to race each other with pedal cars, but we did play 9 holes of miniature golf. Given that two of our kids are now teenagers, I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up being the last time we took our kids to a children's museum. In addition to being the biggest, it also was definitely the most expensive of any children's museum we've ever visited. 

After we left the museum, we stopped at an Olive Garden for dinner on our way to Ohio. Several of us felt it was the best meal that we ate at a restaurant on our trip. Yes, the bill was similar to what we paid at IHOP, but we really enjoyed it. We all love the breadsticks! Instead of an entree, I always order the soup, salad, and breadsticks. Because it was a few days before my birthday, Paul told the waitress we were celebrating my birthday, and so she brought me a complimentary dessert which I shared with the kids and it was SO yummy! That helped make up for skipping dinner the night before. We have continued our tradition of looking for all the license plates. In 2021 we did find all 50 states (plus DC and several Canadian provinces). Last year we saw all of them except for North Dakota and Hawaii. So far this year we've seen 46 of the states' license plates. North Dakota isn't one of the remaining ones this year, but Hawaii is one of the states we're still looking for. Hopefully over the next eight months we'll find the other four states! 

Thankful Thursday

It's been a little over a month since I wrote a gratitude post. As of two days ago, it has been a full month since I broke my ankle. When I broke it, I thought the worst case scenario would be that I'd have three more weeks of not being able to drive once we got back home. I was wrong. The last month has been physically painful for me and at many moments along the way also emotionally painful, but there are still have been many blessings along the way. Here are a few of them.

1. We had a safe trip during our vacation which involved driving around 7K miles. Normally, I do somewhere between 50-100% of the driving when all five of us are in the van. That was only true for the first five days of the trip as Paul did 100% of the driving for the last twenty days of the trip. My injury had the most impact on me and the least impact on the kids during the vacation. Paul was definitely impacted. Normally he reads or takes a nap while I'm driving. He read very little on the trip because he had to do all of the driving following my injury. I'm also the one who usually takes the van for service appointments. Paul took the van for a tire rotation and oil change on Sunday afternoon on October 3. I usually vacuum out the van. Ian did that for me. I haven't been in the van to see how thorough of a job he did. The van still needs to be washed. The van has gone from being used far more than usual during our trip to now it will hardly be used for 6+ weeks due to me not being able to drive.

2. Although I had to spend a lot of time alone on the vacation, Paul was able to spend far more time with the kids over those twenty-five days than he usually does. I've appreciated all the extra help he's given me as there are many things I can't do on my own right now including getting dressed, going grocery shopping, going to the library, taking me to my surgery and doctor appointments, etc. 

3. I was able to spend some time in Chicago with Wendy and her family at the beginning of our trip, and Yvonne, Andrew, Toby, and Jenna spent a little over 24 hours at our house after my ankle surgery. Andrew and Toby took my three to Turbot Township's Fire Prevention Day on Saturday afternoon, which helped us fulfill an annual homeschool requirement. Jenna gave me a haircut. 

4. Nadia was able to meet her pen pal from the last two years when we were in Illinois!

5. The kids were each able to earn around 25-30 Junior Ranger badges during our trip.

6. We used gift cards to pay for almost all of the dinners on our trip. We ate food we had brought along with us for lunch, and we mostly had free breakfasts at the hotels. Different family members would choose different nights that were their favorite in terms of where we ate. Personally, my favorite foods from the vacation would have been the deep dish pizza in Chicago, a salad at Bob Evans, my sweet potato and rolls at the Texas Roadhouse in Arizona (my dinner cost less than $4), and dinner at Olive Garden (I had soup, salad, and breadsticks plus we shared a piece of Black Tie Mousse Cake which I love but hadn't had in many, many years). 

7. COVID didn't wreak too much havoc with our vacation. Only one National Park site we hoped to visit was closed. We did have to wear masks sometimes when indoors, but we were not indoors very much. The biggest bumps in the road due to COVID were the breakfast offerings at some of the hotels (none or only grab and go rather than a buffet) and that a few places near the end of the trip changed their hours and weren't open on the day we planned to visit such as Andrew Jackson's Hermitage and two science museums in Memphis and Nashville. However, considering many National Park sites were closed for more than a year, it seemed like things went pretty smoothly on our trip. 

8. I'm thankful that Oliver was healthy the entire trip and that the rest of us were healthy almost the whole time. The rest of us were each down for less than a day at one point during the trip - intestinal problems for me one day, Ian and Nadia each threw up over a period of about 7 hours on two days, and Paul didn't feel well after sleeping without a pillow.

9. Although I'm not thrilled about the fact that there are now screws and a plate in my ankle, I am thankful that the surgery went smoothly. I'm praying I'll get a good report at my appointment next Thursday. I'm very thankful that the anesthesiologist did everything possible to prevent me from having nausea, and the nerve block also was a huge blessing during the first 24 hours after the surgery. 

10. A neighbor, one of Paul's employees (Dave), my sister, and a woman at church each provided us with one meal after my surgery. Dave and his wife also brought flowers for me. The same man and his wife also gave the kids each a very large goodie bag right before we left on our trip. I was so touched by their generosity and thoughtfulness! The bags contained things like snacks, wet wipes, notebooks, coloring books, etc. 

11. Melinda (a mom of one of Nadia's friends) has agreed to take Nadia and Ian to church every Wednesday afternoon until I'm able to drive again. A neighbor has agreed to take Oliver (and me if I'm up to it) to church every Wednesday evening. Paul picks the kids (or the kids and I) up at 8pm. This means the kids will be able to leave the house at least twice a week over the next 5 weeks - Sundays and Wednesdays. I decided not to leave the house this week. I haven't decided if I'll attempt to go to church next Sunday or Wednesday. I'm leaning towards staying at home for a full two weeks.

12. I was very sleepy Sunday through Tuesday. I am usually not a napper. It's very hard to homeschool when you're about to fall asleep or have just been awakened by one of your students. So I decided on Tuesday afternoon that I wasn't going to take any more oxycodone. Thankfully the pain was bearable with just Tylenol and Advil yesterday. I keep my leg elevated almost the entire day because the pain level is much greater whenever it's not elevated. The only downside so far to stopping the opioid is that I couldn't sleep last night. It seems illogical that on the days I napped a lot I could go to bed around 7:30 or 8:00pm and sleep until at least 6:00am, but on the day I stayed awake all day and didn't go to bed until 9:30pm, I couldn't fall asleep?!? I could not get comfortable. I cannot wait for the cast to come off! I assume I'll sleep better tonight because I am very tired due to not sleeping much last night. Still I am glad to be off the oxycodone because I like being alert when I'm homeschooling, and it shows the pain level has gone down because at first I was taking up to six of those a day.  

13. Margie bought me a cover for my cast (for showering), a shower chair, and a walker. The first two attempts at taking a shower after my surgery didn't go well at all. I was so in much pain both times that I got out before I even finished washing my hair. Last night was my first successful attempt. I sat in the shower chair in the kids' bathtub/shower and kept my right foot propped up on a stool. I didn't realize how much I would prefer using a walker to crutches. I'm not longer worried about falling. Margie has had foot surgery twice in the past (the most recent time was in 2017 shortly after she married Dad), so she knew from experience what would come in handy. 

14. We were able to see many amazing things as we traveled around the country. Some of our favorite parts of our trip would be: riding in a Model T in Michigan, Badlands, Mount Rushmore, the prairie dogs in North Dakota, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Snowbird ski resort, horseback riding in Utah, Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon, slot canyon, Meteor Crater, white water rafting, Mammoth Cave, and the US Space and Rocket Center. 

15. The kids have now been in 36 states plus Ontario and Washington, D.C. We took a small fraction of pictures compared to what would have been taken if I hadn't broken my ankle. I still was able to pick out pictures for our map of the US that hangs in our family room. The only picture I really, really don't like is the one I had to use for Idaho because we took a whopping two pictures in that state. Nadia's not crazy about one of the two I used for Texas, but we plan to return to Texas in the future (Houston and San Antonio) in conjunction with visiting Louisiana for the first time so I should be able to replace that picture. I hadn't planned to return to Idaho, but maybe we will when we visit Oregon and Washington. Although it's a very bitter pill to swallow not to be able to take many pictures on the vacation or for the next 5 weeks, I am very, very thankful that we upgraded my cellphone this spring because that is what Paul usually used when he remembered to take a picture or a video. I had known for years that I love taking pictures, but I realized it even more keenly over the past month as I haven't been able to use my good camera while hopping on my left leg. I'll appreciate it all the more when I'm able to take pictures again. I had bought the boys pumpkin shirts. Hopefully the shirts will still fit them next fall as I don't think I'll be getting a picture of them in their pumpkin shirts this year.

16. Nadia mowed our lawn last week. She started to mow it again this week and quickly gave up. I had no idea how long the grass would get before Paul would get around to doing it, but a neighbor surprised us mowed the lawn for me yesterday! I am so thankful.

17. Weather is something that can make or break a vacation. One of my least favorite vacations was our trip to Grand Cayman in 2012 because the weather was terrible. During our twenty-five day trip it rained two times when we were out and about. It rained a tiny bit while we were in Iowa, which is what unfortunately led to my broken ankle. The only day it rained was while we were at Bryce Canyon. The temperature was also very nice during almost every day of our trip. The kids were cold during their tour of Lowell Observatory because that took place after dark, and they didn't wear any of the coats that were in the van, but in general we had really lovely weather during the entire trip. 

Once I add a picture from Minnesota, our map will be up to date. 14 more states to go!

18. Milo had an awful beginning for the first week of our vacation. I am SO glad that he calmed down and did better for the last 2.5 weeks of our trip. I'm very thankful for everyone who took care of our guinea pigs, our lawn, and Milo during our absence. I'm also thankful that Milo hasn't had any accidents since we've been home. He still needs to learn what he can and can't chew and not to jump on the dining room table, but it's a relief not to have him making messes in the house. Our favorite canine turned one on September 30! Due to my broken ankle I've decided not to make a video of his first year of life. Also, he was very matted when we came home from vacation so I had to cut off a lot of his fur. Maybe I'll make a video in December about his first year in our family.

19. Yvonne's blood pressure and heart rate have been very elevated for a month due to the high elevation in Quito. She and Jenna went to two Urgent Care clinics on Saturday morning when they were at our house, and a doctor was willing to help her at the second clinic. I'm so thankful she has been able to bring her blood pressure down thanks to the medication she was prescribed! Hopefully it won't take her body too long to adjust to the high altitude. 

20. Back in 2008 I predicted that the first room I would replace the flooring in would be the dining room. That prediction proved to be false, but on October 4 we did get new flooring in the dining room. I'm no longer worried about spills when we're eating in that room.